Slain female police officers who were lured to ‘fake burglary’ are named

Two unarmed female police officers shot dead in Manchester have been named, as police chiefs said the man suspected of murdering them and two other people is thought to have lured them to their deaths with a fake burglary call.

Pc Fiona Bone (Picture: PA)

Pc Nicola Hughes (Picture: PA)

Greater Manchester police (GMP) said the deaths of Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, marked ‘one of the darkest days in the history of [the force], if not the police service overall’.

They died in a gun and grenade attack after responding to a ‘routine’ 999 call about an attempted burglary in Abbey Gardens, Hattersley, in the Tameside area. One officer died at the scene while hours later the second died in hospital after being critically injured.

Shortly afterwards, 29-year-old Dale Cregan, already wanted over two other murders, handed himself into a nearby police station and was subsequently arrested over their deaths.

Dale Cregan was wanted in connection with two murders in May and August (Picture: PA)

Sir Peter Fahy, chief constable of GMP, told journalists Pc Bone and Pc Hughes were ‘very brave, courageous and exemplified the best of British policing’.

He said Pc Bone, who had been in the force for five years, was a ‘calm and collected’ presence and had been planning her wedding invitations only this morning.

Pc Hughes, who had three years’ service, was a ‘bubbly chatterbox’ who loved karate and was always smiling.

Prime minister David Cameron said the officers’ deaths were ‘a shocking reminder of the debt we owe to those who put themselves in danger to keep us safe and secure’.

Earlier, GMP assistant chief constable Gary Shewan, who said a ‘long and dark shadow’ had been cast over Manchester, confirmed patrols were being stepped up in the Hattersley area to reassure the local community.

Mr Shewan added that Mr Cregan had been arrested over the murders of David Short, 46, and his son Mark, 23.

Forensic officers search the scene outside a house in Hattersley, Tameside, where two female police officers were shot dead (Picture: Getty)

David Short was killed at his home in Folkestone Road East, Clayton, on August 10, in a gun and grenade attack.

Mark Short was gunned down at the Cotton Tree pub in Droylsden on May 25 when a gunman opened fire, injuring three others.

Four men have been charged in connection with Mark Short’s murder and are due to enter pleas at Manchester crown court in November.

A 33-year-old man appeared at the same court earlier this month over the murder of David Short.